Multi-functional dish holder

ABSTRACT

A dish holder for holding a variety of different types of dishes having large and small diameters and large and small depths. The dish holder includes a pair of pivotable fences and a pair of pivot supports that pivotably support the fences along parallel spaced apart axes. Each of the fences has a horizontally disposed base wire and a plurality of V-shaped pins attached to and equally spaced along the base wire. The plurality of pins of one fence are longitudinally offset from the plurality of pins of the other fence such that each pin is generally equally longitudinally spaced from adjacent pins of the other fence. Each of the fences is pivotable between an open position wherein the pins are directed outwardly and upwardly and a closed position wherein the pins form an inverted-V.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a dish holder and inparticular to a dish holder having pivoting fences which form variousconfigurations to support various types of dishes having large and smalldiameters and large and small depths.

2. Description of Related Art

Dish holders or racks such as those used in dishwashers shouldaccommodate articles to be held in a manner which is efficient in itsuse of space in order to maximize the capacity of the dishwasher. Thedish holders should also accommodate various types and sizes of articlesfrom use to use. In some cases the dishwasher may be loaded with smalldiameter and small depth articles such as saucers. In other cases thedishwasher may be loaded with large diameter and/or large depth articlessuch as dinner plates, large bowls, or platters. In yet other cases thedishwasher may be loaded with small diameter and large depth articlessuch as small bowls. Additionally, the dishwasher may be loaded withdrinking glasses or cups. Several dish holders have evolved to alleviatethe problem of efficiently loading the variously shaped articles.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,437, the disclosure of which isexpressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, discloses arack for a dishwasher. The rack includes a succession of aligned pairsof dish holding elements of alternate configuration. One element is anupwardly extending straight finger and the other element is divergingand substantially shorter than the finger. While the pivoted dividersmay accommodate articles of varying depths, they do not accommodatearticles of varying diameter.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,464, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated herein in its entirety by reference, discloses a pivoteddivider. The pivoted divider includes "dog-leg" shaped pins and ispivotable between upright and folded down positions. While the pivoteddividers may accommodate articles of varying diameters, they do notaccommodate articles of varying depth.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,185, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated herein in its entirety by reference, discloses a pair ofpivoting dividers. Each divider includes two sets of pegs which aredesigned to hold first and second types of dishes. The pair of dividerspivot between first and second positions to selectively support thefirst and second types of dishes. While the pivotable dividers mayaccommodate articles of varying diameters, they do not accommodatearticles of varying depth.

The cost of manufacture of any consumer item manufactured in greatnumbers, such as dishwashers, is of great significance and therefore anydish holder must be relatively simple and easily manufactured so as tominimize the costs involved. Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a dish holder that has a relatively low cost ofmanufacture, that provides increased load capacity of the dish washer,and accommodates dishes of various types having large and smalldiameters and large and small depths.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The dish holder of the present invention solves the above-noted problemsby having a pair of pivoting fences which enable the dish holder to beformed into various configurations. The dish holder includes first andsecond fences and means for pivotably supporting the fences alongparallel spaced apart axes. The first fence has a horizontally disposedfirst base wire and a first plurality of pins attached to and equallyspaced along the first base wire. The second fence has a horizontallydisposed second base wire parallel with and spaced apart from the firstbase wire and a second plurality of pins attached to and equally spacedalong the second base wire. The second plurality of pins islongitudinally offset from the first plurality of pins such that eachpin of the second plurality of pins is generally equally longitudinallyspaced from adjacent pins of the first plurality of pins.

Each of the fences are pivotable between an open position and a closedposition. A first configuration of the dish holder, having each of thefences in the closed position, provides relatively small longitudinalspacing for dishes between the interacting pins of the first and secondfences. A second configuration, having both of the fences in the openposition, provides relatively wide lateral support for dishes againstthe pins of both of the fences. A third configuration, having one of thefences in the closed position and one of the fences in the open positionprovides relatively large longitudinal spacing for the dishes betweenthe pins of the fence in the closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will hereafter be described with reference to thedrawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dishwasher with a multi-functionaldish holder according to the invention in an upper rack of a dishwasher;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a multi-functional dish holder with bothpivotable fences in a closed position;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, in cross-section, taken along line 3--3of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the multi-functional dish holder of FIG.2 with both pivotable fences in an open position; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the multi-functional dish holder of FIG.2 with one fence in an open position and the other fence in a closedposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A front loading automatic dishwasher 10, shown in FIG. 1, includes atank 12 defining a cleaning chamber 14 having a front opening 16. A door18 is hingedly mounted at the bottom of the front opening 16 for pivotalmovement about a bottom edge, as is conventional. The door 18 moves froma vertical closed position (not shown) to a horizontal open position(shown in FIG. 1). Supported within the chamber 14 are upper and lowerracks 20, 22 for supporting soiled articles or dishes to be cleaned bythe dishwasher 10.

The lower rack 22 is supported within the chamber 14 by suitable tracksand is adapted to be rolled out onto the door 18 in its open positionfor loading and unloading. The upper rack 20 is supported within thechamber 14 by a pair of conventional telescopic tracks 24. The upperrack 20 is movable from a retracted position within the chamber 14 (notshown) and a fully extended position overlying the door 18 in its openposition (shown in FIG. 1) for loading and unloading.

The racks 20, 22 are generally basket-shaped and are formed of segmentalwire-frame construction wherein a plurality of horizontally disposedlongitudinal and lateral wire segments 26, 28 are arranged in acriss-cross fashion to form a lattice-work bottom 30. Verticallydisposed extensions of the wire segments 26, 28 form a front 32, a back34, and sides 36. Horizontally disposed wire segments 38 extend aroundthe outer periphery of the racks 20, 22 and cooperate with thevertically disposed extensions of the wire segments 26, 28 to defineouter boundaries of the racks 20, 22. The wire segments 26, 28, 38 aresufficiently spaced to prevent stored dishes from passing therethroughwhile exposing the dishes to an upwardly projecting washing liquid forcleaning.

Mounted within the upper rack 20 is a multi-functional dish holder 40.FIG. 1 illustrates the dish holder 40 arranged from the front 32 to theback 34, or longitudinally, in the upper rack 20. The dish holder 40could also be arranged from one side to the other side 36, or laterally,in the upper rack 20. The dish holder 40 could also be located in thelower rack 22. It will be noted that the dish holder 40 could also beutilized wherever it might be desirable for providing increasedflexibility in loading various types or sizes of dishes such as, forexample, a dish drainer.

As best seen in FIGS. 2-4 the dish holder 40 includes first and secondpivotable fences 42, 44 and means for pivotally supporting the pivotablefences. The means for pivotally supporting the fences of the illustratedembodiment are a pair of pivot supports 46, 48. It will be noted thatthe means for pivotally supporting the fences could take many forms suchas, for example, a plurality of individual brackets as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,917,248, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporatedherein in its entirety.

The fences 42, 44 are of segmental wire-frame construction. Thesegmental wire-frame construction and materials are preferably the typeused for the upper and lower racks 20, 22 as known in the art. Thefences 42, 44 are preferably formed from steel wire and coated with aPVC, nylon, vinyl or other plastic material to minimize rust of thesteel wire and prevent scratching of the dishes. The coating materialmust have sufficient heat resistant qualities to withstand temperaturesobtained in the dishwasher 10 which can reach approximately 140 degreesFahrenheit. The fences 42, 44 may be formed from other materials, suchas solid plastic or vinyl, as long as they have sufficient qualitiesrelating to corrosion resistance, heat resistance, strength, weight, andrigidity.

As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the fences 42, 44 include alongitudinal wire segment or base wire 50 and a plurality of lateralwire segments or pins 52. Each fence 42, 44 of the illustratedembodiment has a group of four pins 52. It will be noted that otherquantities of pins 52 could be attached to each fence 42, 44. Each pin52 is perpendicularly attached to the base wire 50 and is equally spacedrelative to the other pins 52 on the base wire 50 in a "comb" likemanner. In the illustrated embodiment, therefore, the four pins 52 formthree equally sized spaces. As best seen in FIG. 5, the pins 52 arepreferably spaced a length effective for supporting a small bowl. Asbest seen in FIG. 4, the group of pins 52 is offset or unequally spacedrelative to the ends of the base wire 50. The group of pins 52 ispreferably offset towards one end of the base wire 50 a distancegenerally equal to 1/4 the length of one of the spaces between the pins52. This offset allows the pins 52 of one fence to be offset relative tothe pins 52 of the other fence, as further described below, whileallowing the fences 42, 44 to have identical configurations.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the pins 52 are generally V-shaped. It is notedhowever that this is representative of a particular embodiment and othervariations are possible for achieving the flexibility of loading varioustypes or sizes of dishes.

Each pivot support 46, 48 includes a pair of apertures 54 for pivotallyretaining an end of each of the base wires 50. The apertures 54 arespaced to position the base wires 50 a lateral distance apart that iseffective for supporting a saucer as shown in FIG. 2 or a bowl as shownin FIG. 5. Preferably, the base wires 50 are spaced a distance equal toa distance that the wire segments 26, 28 of the racks 22, 24 aretypically spaced. The pivot supports 46, 48 can include means forpositively mounting or attaching the dish holder 40 to the longitudinalwire segments 26, 28 of the racks 20, 22. For example, each of the pivotsupports could have two pairs of flexible fingers that form apertureswherein the wire segments are inserted into the apertures by flexingapart the fingers.

The pair of fences 42, 44 are retained between the pair of pivotsupports 46, 48 such that they each can pivot or rotate on thelongitudinal axis of their respective base wires 50. Each of the fences42, 44 can inwardly rotate to a closed position. In the closed position,the pins 52 have a centrally located, that is located generally betweenthe two base wires 50, and upwardly extending portion 56 which providesrelatively narrow lateral support for the dishes as best seen in FIG. 3.Preferably, the pins 52 have a centrally located bend. The pins of theillustrated embodiment, having a V-shape, form an inverted-V in theclosed position as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 illustrates a first or fully closed configuration of the dishholder 40 wherein each of the fences 42, 44 are in the closed position.As best seen in FIG. 3, further inward rotation of each fence 42, 44 isprevented by interference between the pins 52 of that fence and the basewire 52 of the other fence. In the fully closed configuration of FIG. 2,the pins 52 of each fence 42, 44 are equally spaced between adjacentpins of the other fence due to the offset described above. In theillustrated embodiment, therefore, the eight pins 52 interact to formseven equally sized spaces that have a length equal to approximately 1/2the length of each of the three spaces formed by the four pins 52 of asingle base wire 50. The relatively small length of the spacesadvantageously holds small plates, saucers, or other dishes 58 thatrequire a relatively small longitudinal spacing and/or relatively narrowlateral support.

As best seen in FIG. 3, each of the fences 42, 44 can outwardly rotatefrom the closed position (shown in solid lines) to an open position(shown in phantom lines). In the open position, the pins 52 have anoutwardly extending portion 60 and an upwardly extending portion 62. Theoutwardly extending portions 60 separate the upwardly extending portions62 a distance adequate to provide relatively wide lateral support fordishes between the two upwardly extending portions 62 as shown in FIG.3.

FIG. 4 illustrates a second or fully open configuration of the dishholder 40 wherein each of the fences 42, 44 is in the open position. Therelatively wide lateral distance between the upwardly extending portions62 of the pins 52 and the relatively large length of the central spaceadvantageously supports plates, platters, large bowls, or other dishes64 that require relatively large longitudinal spacing and/or relativelywide lateral support. The upwardly extending portions 62 of the pins 52in the open position can also advantageously support glasses or cups 66.

FIG. 5 illustrates a third or partially open and partially closedconfiguration of the dish holder 40 wherein one fence 44 is in the openposition and the other fence 42 is in the closed position. Therelatively large length of the spaces between the pins 52 of the fence42 in the closed position advantageously holds small bowls, or otherdishes 68 that require relatively large longitudinal spacing and/orrelatively narrow lateral support. The upwardly extending portions 62 ofthe pins on the fence 44 in the open position can also advantageouslysupport glasses or cups.

Although particular embodiments of the dish holder have been describedin detail, it will be understood that the invention is not limitedcorrespondingly in scope, but includes all changes and modificationscoming within the spirit and terms of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dish holder for holding a variety of differenttypes of dishes, said dish holder comprising:a first fence having ahorizontally disposed first base wire and a first plurality of V-shapedpins attached to and spaced along said first base wire; a second fencehaving a horizontally disposed second base wire parallel with and spacedapart from said first base wire and a second plurality of V-shaped pinsattached to and spaced along said second base wire; means for pivotablysupporting said fences along parallel spaced apart longitudinal axes,each of said fences being pivotable between an open position and aclosed position; and wherein each of said pins of said first fence andeach of said pins of said second fence have an upwardly extendingportion disposed outwardly of said first and second base wires when inan open position and an upwardly extending portion disposed centrallybetween said first and second base wires when in a closed position. 2.The dish holder according to claim 1, wherein said second plurality ofpins are longitudinally offset from said first plurality of pins adistance generally equal to about one half the distance between adjacentpins of said first plurality of pins such that each pin of said secondplurality of pins is located generally midway between adjacent pins ofsaid first plurality of pins.
 3. The dish holder according to claim 2,wherein said first plurality of pins is offset relative to ends of saidfirst base wire.
 4. A dish holder for holding a variety of differenttypes of dishes, said dish holder comprising:a first fence having ahorizontally disposed first base wire and a first plurality of V-shapedpins attached to and spaced along said first base wire; a second fencehaving a horizontally disposed second base wire parallel with and spacedapart from said first base wire and a second plurality of V-shaped pinsattached to and spaced along said second base wire; means for pivotablysupporting said fences along parallel spaced apart longitudinal axes sothat each of said first and second fences is pivotable between at leasttwo positions, each pin of said first and second plurality of V-shapedpins having an upwardly extending portion disposed centrally betweensaid first and second base wires when in a closed position; and whereinsaid second plurality of pins is longitudinally offset from said firstplurality of pins a distance generally equal to about one half thedistance between adjacent pins of said first plurality of pins such thateach pin of said second plurality of pins is located generally midwaybetween adjacent pins of said first plurality of pins.
 5. The dishholder according to claim 4, wherein each of said pins of said firstfence and each of said pins of said second fence have an upwardlyextending portion disposed outwardly of said first and second base wireswhen in an open position and an upwardly extending portion disposedgenerally between said first and second base wires when in a closedposition.
 6. The dish holder according to claim 5, wherein each of saidpins of said first fence and each of said pins of said second fence havea generally centrally located bend.
 7. The dish holder according toclaim 4, wherein said V-shaped pins are inverted when said fences are insaid closed position.
 8. The dish holder according to claim 4, whereinsaid first plurality of pins is offset relative to ends of said firstbase wire.
 9. The dish holder according to claim 3, wherein said firstplurality of pins is offset from one end a distance generally equal to1/4 the distance between adjacent pins of said first plurality of pins.10. The dish holder according to claim 4, wherein said first pluralityof pins are equally spaced along said first base wire and said secondplurality of pins are equally spaced along said second base wire. 11.The dish holder according to claim 4, wherein said first base wire iscoaxial with a first one of said parallel spaced apart longitudinal axesand said second base wire is coaxial with a second one of said parallelspaced apart longitudinal axes.
 12. The dish holder according to claim4, wherein said first and second fences mesh when in a closed position.13. A dishwasher rack assembly for holding a variety of different typesof dishes, said dishwasher rack assembly comprising:a rack having abottom including a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal and lateralwire segments; a first fence having a horizontally disposed first basewire and a first plurality of V-shaped pins attached to and spaced alongsaid first base wire; a second fence having a horizontally disposedsecond base wire parallel with and spaced apart from said first basewire and a second plurality of V-shaped pins attached to and spacedalong said second base wire, said second plurality of pins beinglongitudinally offset from said first plurality of pins a distancegenerally equal to about one half the distance between adjacent pins ofsaid first plurality of pins such that each pin of said second pluralityof pins is located generally midway between adjacent pins of said firstplurality of pins; and means for pivotably mounting said fences on saidbottom of said rack along parallel spaced apart longitudinal axes sothat each of said first and second fences is pivotable between at leasttwo positions, each pin of said first and second plurality of V-shapedpins having an upwardly extending portion disposed centrally betweensaid first and second base wires when in a closed position.
 14. Thedishwasher rack assembly according to claim 13, wherein each of saidpins of said first fence and each of said pins of said second fence havean outwardly located upright portion in an open position and a centrallylocated upright portion in a closed position for providing narrowlateral support in said closed position relative to said open position.15. The dishwasher rack assembly according to claim 13, wherein saidV-shaped pins are inverted when said fences are in said closed position.16. The dishwasher rack assembly according to claim 13, wherein saidfirst plurality of pins is offset relative to ends of said first basewire.
 17. A dishwasher for washing dishes of a variety of differenttypes, said dishwasher comprising:a tub having a front opening; a doorcapable of sealably closing said front opening of said tub; a sprayercapable of spraying water within said tub; at least one rack within saidtub and having a bottom including a plurality of spaced apartlongitudinal and lateral wire segments; a first fence having ahorizontally disposed first base wire and a first plurality of V-shapedpins attached to and spaced along said first base wire; a second fencehaving a horizontally disposed second base wire parallel with and spacedapart from said first base wire and a second plurality of V-shaped pinsattached to and spaced along said second base wire, said secondplurality of pins being longitudinally offset from said first pluralityof pins a distance generally equal to about one half the distancebetween adjacent pins of said first plurality of pins such that each pinof said second plurality of pins is located generally midway betweenadjacent pins of said first plurality of pins; and means for pivotablymounting said fences on said bottom of said rack along parallel spacedapart longitudinal axes so that each of said first and second fences ispivotable between at least two positions, each pin of said first andsecond plurality of V-shaped pins having an upwardly extending portiondisposed centrally between said first and second base wires when in aclosed position.